Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Fri, 17 Oct 2014
Dave Thompson
Teams from Liberty University School of Law turned in solid performances in competitions last weekend, taking second place in a national moot court tournament and fourth place in a national negotiation competition.
Zach Hurt and Justin Reddington took second place at Regent University's Leroy R. Hassell, Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition.
Hurt and Reddington also received the award for best petitioner brief in the tournament. Reddington was named best oralist, while Hurt was named second-best oralist. The two defeated teams from New York Law, Brooklyn, Elon, Florida Coastal, St. Johns, and Houston before losing to the number 1 seed from Florida Coastal in the finals.
Hurt and Reddington entered the final round as the top seed, before being toppled by Florida Coastal.
"Erika Lukenbill and James Sosnoski also competed, arguing very well though they did not advance,” said Scott Thompson, director of the Center for Lawyering Skills. Their oral scores beat those of teams from Texas Tech, Pepperdine, and St. Johns, but they were unable to overcome the difference in the brief scores.
The teams were coached by Thompson and Rena Lindevaldsen, associate dean for Academic Affairs.
“I could not be more proud of the way that our teams competed throughout the tournament,” Thompson said.
"Throughout the tournament Justin and Zach competed at such a high level that they received words of praise from everyone who saw them. During some of their preliminary rounds they scored 50-plus-point victories which is unheard of in national moot court competitions. Dean Lindevaldsen and I are very proud of both teams.”
The same weekend, Genevieve Vallotton and Stevie McDonald took fourth place in the Southwestern Entertainment Law Negotiation Competition in Los Angeles, California.
After making the initial cut from 32 teams to four teams, Vallotton and McDonald entered the final round as the top seed, and received praise from the host school.
"To make the final round was spectacular,” said Professor Joel Hesch, who coached the team along with Associate Lawyering Skills Legal Instructor Grant Rost.
"The students really demonstrated strong skills in negotiation and really represented us well. I’m extremely proud of them,” Hesch said.
That team defeated competitors from the University of Georgia, Laverne, Chapman, Western State, Chicago John Marshall, and Texas A&M.